In fairness, nothing in the Qur'an says to stone blasphemers as far as I recall.
Agreed.
The Qur’an lists a number of capital crimes; crimes that undermine the moral fabric of the Islamic community as a whole. Such crimes are known collectively as
ḥirābah.
In Islamic law,
ḥirābah form a category comprising armed robbery with violence; murder; rape; and terrorism.
The essential hallmark of
ḥirābah is that they are intended to instil fear into the general community; to ‘corrupt the earth’ – the ‘act of undoing and breaking down the ties and relationships that God has established through creation by disrupting the process of human intercourse and by destroying the very possibility of human beings coming “to know one another” through interactive social dynamics.’ (Professor Khaled Abou El Fadl: ‘The Great Theft – Wrestling Islam From the Extremists’).
Insulting the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) may well instil revulsion – even anger – in the listener; but not fear…not terror. It is not of the
ḥirābah, and carries no death penalty in the Qur’an; indeed, no earthly penalty at all.
In sūrah ‘
Al-Ma’ida’ we read: ‘if anyone kills a person – unless in retribution for murder or spreading corruption in the land – it is as if he kills all mankind, while if any saves a life it is as if he saves the lives of all mankind.’ (Verse 32).
These are the words of Allāh (subḥānahu ūta'āla) – speaking to the heart of every Muslim today, just as they did to the Prophet of Islam (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam). Where in this verse do we find the words ‘unless in retribution for insulting Mohammed’?
Those who claim to love the Prophet – and who seek to defend his honour – would do well to follow his example. During his lifetime he was ridiculed and insulted many times; and several attempts were made on his life. We have to ask ourselves: If the Prophet wished to execute – or to have others execute – those who insulted him, why is there no Qur’anic authority for this to be done?
In sūrah ‘Fussilat’ the Prophet is
commanded to ‘repel evil with that which is better’ (Verse 34); and this he did, many times. Islamic scholars consider his behaviour to be the exemplar of appropriate action in the face of personal insult or assault.
The French orientalist Louis-Pierre-Eugène Amélie Sédillot writes:
‘It is such a distortion of historical facts when some writers accuse Prophet Muhammad of cruelty…They forget that he spared no effort in eliminating the inherited desire for revenge between Arabs; despite the fact that revenge was highly esteemed in Arabia, like fencing was in Europe. They do not read the Quranic verse by which the Prophet broke the horrible habit of burying new-born girls alive. They never think of the pardon he granted to his worst enemies after the Conquest of Mecca.’ (‘Brief History of the Arabs’; my emphasis).
‘Repel evil with that which is better.’
Folk must ask themselves, in what way can the murder of an individual for some (perceived) insult to the Prophet be better than simple forgiveness?
